Something About Your Eyes
by OriginallyImperfect
Summary: After a horrific night that left Taylor and Troy losing someone, their paths meet again. Except Troy recognises Taylor, but she doesn't remember him. One thing sticks out to her the most however, his electric blue eyes. Traylor, obviously :  Rated M later
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is the start of my new story. I know, I'm starting quite a lot of new ones, but I promise I will update this regularly. I started this because I felt I needed to add a high school story to the mix. I know I already have 2, Utah Dreams and WTYT but those are on hiatus and the three stories I will now be focusing on more now are this story, Try Again and Always Right. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this.**

**And just to let you know. They are sophomores, i think. I'm not used to the American schooling system, so if you know what you would be 2 years before you're a senior, can you please tell me **** thanks.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything. Not HSM, not any of the characters except for original ones.**

**Enjoy!**

_Taylor tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't get to sleep with all the things that were on her mind. She should've been happy; in fact, she should've already been asleep so that she could be ready for the long day ahead of her tomorrow. It would be the first day of summer and her friends had planned out a whole day of fun for them. Turning on her side once again, Taylor sat up straight in her bed. Maybe a glass of water would help clear her mind and allow her to get some rest. Slipping on her slippers, she lightly went down the stairs, careful not to awake her parents or her older brother, Tyler. As she descended the stairs, she heard some sounds. As soon as she stopped, the sounds stopped. _

_Taylor shrugged off the sounds, and continued going. Again there was more noise. Making sure that she was being as quiet as she could be, she completed going down the stairs and decided to investigate the noise. It seemed to be coming from her living room, so she tip toed towards the wall and slowly pushed the door. She only opened it a little bit, as to not create a lot of noise from the creaking. However, when she peeped inside, she gasped when she saw 2 men, all in black, faces covered, rummaging through her living room. Quickly stepping back from the door, Taylor pondered on what she should do. At this point her heart was racing. She had to go and wake up her parents. That was the only thing she could think of doing. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice which belonged to a figure that had appeared from the kitchen._

"_Hey!" it yelled, staring directly at Taylor. Taylor's breath suddenly shortened and she quickly ran for the stairs so that she could at least get her parents to come down. She knew her dad kept some kind of weapon underneath their bed just in case of an emergency. The man however was just as quick and he caught up to her as she was halfway up the stairs._

"_MOM! DAD! TYLER!" she yelled, hoping that they would hear her cries and wake up. _

"_Was that Taylor?" Mrs McKessie asked her husband, sitting up straight as she looked over at him. He too had the same worried expression on his face. _

_The man then wrapped his hand around her mouth and roughly pushed her down the stairs. Taylor's fall created a loud noise and she landed with a thud. _

"_What was that?" Mrs McKessie once again questioned. Her husband however had already gotten up and reached underneath his bed for his gun. As he stood in the hallway, his wife right behind him, he saw his son. He too had heard Taylor's voice and the loud thud that followed. Unlike his father, he had settled for holding a baseball bat._

"_What the hell just happened?" another voice harshly whispered, appearing from the living room and staring at the scene. Taylor's head was throbbing and back spots were invading her vision._

"_She was looking through the door", he began, pointing at the door that the other voice had just come out of. His voice was softer than the gruff voice before. He sounded younger. "and she was about to go upstairs, I'm guessing to get her parents, so I caught her and pushed her down the stairs."_

"_Jeez, Evan. Why did you do that?" the man inquired, rubbing a hand over his covered face, from the skin around his eyes, Taylor could tell that he was a black man. She looked over at the man he had just called Evan. He was the one that pushed her. Even though all she could see were his eyes and nose and lips, she could also see the blonde hair that fell into his emerald eyes._

"_What was I meant to do? She was about to go up there and get her parents! If anything, Martin, you should be thanking me!" The big dots blurring Taylor's vision started to get bigger and Taylor found it harder to concentrate on her surroundings let alone move her body. _

"_Whoa! Wh-what happened? I thought you guys said nobody was gonna get hurt?" This other voice sounded softer, just like the one that belonged to the guy who pushed her. Evan. Taylor took note of that, she was taking note of as many things as she could just in case she made it out alive and she had to go for a questioning. As he said this, he made his way over to Taylor and he bent down to make sure that she was okay._

"_Evan pushed her down the stairs!"_

"_I did the right thing!" Evan answered, throwing his hands up in the air. The other young voice glared at him before taking off his gloves and reaching out to touch Taylor. Immediately she began to cry. _

"_Hey, hey. Stop. Please don't cry. Please. Just shh." He soothed, putting a finger over her lips. As soon as he did so, her sobs turned into quiet hiccups._

_Mr McKessie quietly leaned over and took a look downstairs to see what was going on. When he saw his little girl sprawled out on the floor, her body shaking as if she was crying, eyes began to tear up. He turned away and quietly made his way back to his son's room in which they had agreed to stay in just in case they were spotted. "Dad, what's going on?" his son whispered, scared for his little sister._

"_There are three of them," he choked out, shaking his head, "Taylor's on the floor. I'm guessing that sound was her falling down the stairs."_

"_So what are we going to do?" Mrs McKessie asked, placing a hand over her chest. "We can't leave Taylor down there with them like that! I'm calling the police." She hurried over to her son's dresser and she dialled 911._

_Taylor shifted her eyes to look at the boy, who seemed to be much gentler and caring than the other two? One thing that stuck out to her most was his piercing eyes. They were an electric blue and she was pretty sure that she wouldn't have a hard time remembering those eyes. At this point, her hearing was starting to become muffled, so she tried as hard as she could to concentrate on the men's appearance. "Take her to the living room, Troy. And I'll figure out what we're gonna do with this mess. And make sure you're quiet and she doesn't scream. If her parents are still sleeping we don't wanna wake them now." Martin stated, once again rubbing a hand over his covered face and glaring towards Evan, who just shrugged and smirked. Troy nodded and faced Taylor._

"_I'm gonna pick you up now, okay?"_

"_Why you being so nice? Just pick the bitch up and dump her on the sofa." Evan said, scrunching his face up at Troy's gentleness. Troy couldn't believe he was best friends with this idiot. This was his entire fault he was in this mess anyway. He was the one that convinced him to take part in a job that he had been given by this random man. But then again, the only reason why Troy agreed was so that he could pawn some of the stuff that they would've got. He needed the money. Both he and his father needed the money. It was a simple job. Get in, get the goods, and get out. But Evan had just complicated it even more._

"_Because this isn't how this was supposed to happen, Evan!" he replied as he gently scooped Taylor up in his arms and made his way over to the living room, where he placed her down softly and gave her a small smile. Taylor, however, turned and faced her cushion whilst she softly began to sob. Troy instantly felt horrible, so he started to softly stroke her hair. "Hey, please stop crying." Evan rolled his eyes strolled over to Taylor and slapped her, knocking her out cold. "EVAN! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?"_

"_Hey, keep your voices down! They might hear you." Martin immediately stopped when he heard footsteps descending the stairs, reaching for his gun and warning Troy and Evan to be ready, he slowly made his way over to the side of the stairs, keeping his body as flat and as close to the wall as he could. The other two were stood up, and had their weapons ready to attack. _

_Mr Mckessie could feel his heart speeding up the more steps he took. He took his gun off safety, ready to hurt whoever it was. When he reached the bottom, he turned his head to peer into the wide open door of the living room where he saw his baby girl lying there, lifelessly. "Tay-" he never got to finish his sentence as Martin appeared and smacked him across the side of his head with his own gun, knocking Mr Mckessie out. Sighing, Martin beckoned for Troy to come in and drag him into the living room._

"_Use the curtain cord to tie his hands together. Do the same for the girl." He stated, reaching down and picking up the firearm that he guessed was going to be used on him. Troy dragged Mr Mckessie into the living room and followed Martin's instructions, being much gentler when tying up Taylor. He didn't want her in any more pain than she was already in. Running a hand over his face, Martin made his way back into the living room._

_Not hearing anything happening, Mrs Mckessie became worried. "I'm going down there; the police should be here within the next 10 minutes."_

"_Mom, don't! They might hurt you!" Tyler insisted, blocking his mother from going any further. "You come straight after me, stay behind me mom." She nodded and followed her son down the stairs. Unluckily for them, Evan had heard them descending the stairs and as soon as Tyler's foot reached the bottom, baseball up and ready to swing, Evan had placed his gun on his temple. Tyler gulped. Evan chuckled at his nervousness._

"_Give me the bat." He insisted, as one hand reached out and took the bat from his hands. "Thanks." _

"_I'm gonna kill yo—" Like father like son, he never got to finish his sentence either as Evan raised a hand and brought it down, slamming it into the side of his face, knocking him out also. _

"_Troy." He started, smirking, "We got another one. Here, use this to tie him. And gag this one too." He told him, reaching into his pocket and handing him two bandanas. _

"_Evan! I don't like this! No one was meant to get hurt!" Troy ran a frustrated hand through his hair._

"_Did you take your gloves off? What the fuck is wrong with you Troy? Your fingerprints are probably everywhere!" Evan yelled, staring at his best friend's hand._

"_Where's my husband?" They both turned towards the voice and saw a woman in her robe at the top of the stairs, her dark, thick hair that stopped at her shoulders. Her face was stern despite the tear stains on her cheeks. Evan chuckled bitterly whilst Troy just dragged Tyler away, not wanting to look at Mrs Mckessie. "Where are you going with my son?" Evan scratched his head with his gun as if to think. _

"_Listen lady."_

"_Mrs Mckessie." Evan rolled his eyes and shrugged._

"_Yeah, whatever. Why don't you just come on down, drop any weapon you might be holding and we'll take you to your family. We don't wanna complicate this anymore than it already is." Mrs Mckessie was on the verge of tears. Why did they have to choose her family? Why? She raised her hands in the air to show him that she had nothing in her hands as she slowly went down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Evan grabbed onto her roughly and was about to drag her to the living room when Martin pushed him out of the way and took Mrs Mckessie's arm, except gentler and more comfortable. _

"_Thank you." Mrs Mckessie whispered to Martin, who just nodded, and led her to the living room._

"_This may hurt a little." He told her, before tying her up to the back of the chair and allowing her to sit on it. _

"_Why are you doing this?"_

"_Listen l—Mrs Mckessie, if it wasn't for your daughter coming downstairs, we woulda been on our way out by now with our goods." _

"_Evan, shut up. Gosh, this is why I told Jeffrey not to let rookies in to do this job with me." Martin yelled, losing his temper with the boy._

"_Rookie? I'm not a rookie! Maybe he is," he started, pointing at Troy, who was now sitting next to Taylor whilst looking down at Mrs Mckessie, face filled with sorrow. "But I'm not! You forget this isn't my first job. I usually do these things alone. If you two weren't here, I would've escaped by now." Martin's reply was cut short when Mr Mckessie's groans sounded. _

"_Untie me now!"_

"_I don't think so, old man." Evan laughed, squatting down and chuckling even more when Mr Mckessie winced when he reached out to touch the side of his face. Not a moment later, did Tyler also wake up, straining against the bandanas he had been tied with. He tried to talk, but because of the gag in his mouth, it came out muffled. "Hmm. Not so tough now, are you? What were you saying before? Bout you're gonna do something to me?" Tyler moved violently against the chair before finally giving up. "That's what I thought." Suddenly, a moan filled the room and Troy instantly became nervous when he felt Taylor move from leaning on him. As she looked up at him, she caught those sparkling blue eyes again. He smiled down at her and reached out to check the side of her face, which was quickly turning black and blue due to the smack she had received. He frowned when she jumped away from his touch._

"_Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna check if it's that bad." Taylor nodded slowly. This guy was much nicer than the other two. He seemed as if he didn't want to be here. He seemed as if he didn't want to be in this mess. "Does it hurt?" _

"_Y-yes." She replied, pulling back and attempting to touch the bruise for herself. It was only then that she realised that she had been tied up. _

"_Leave my daughter alone!" Mr Mckessie shouted to Troy. Troy looked down as Taylor stood up to go to her father. Her legs had not been tied. Troy had just tied her hands and allowed her to rest on the sofa. Taylor flopped back down on the sofa, her head spinning. Troy quickly helped her sit up and flashed a quick smile. "I thought I told you to step away from her."_

"_Sir, I'm only trying to help. I'm not like my dickhead of a friend; I didn't want this to happen, so I'm trying to help." Mr Mckessie just looked away towards Martin and Evan who seemed to be arguing in the hallway. _

_Taylor stared at the boy's hand, still trying to register as much as she could. Troy caught her stare and sighed. He smiled at her and he wasn't surprised when she didn't smile back. Looking back up towards the hallway, he wondered what the two were arguing over. He didn't notice however, Mr Mckessie slip out of his restraints and lean over, grabbing the gun that had been left on the drawer near him. His wife smiled as she saw what her husband had achieved. Evan and Martin walked back into the room, Martin running another gloved hand over his masked face. His anger was visible however when he reached for his gun and began pointing it around the room._

"_Which one of you called the cops?" Silence. "I SAID, WHICH ONE OF YOU CALLED THE FUCKING COPS?" He yelled, still going around the room. Troy, whom was beginning to get even more nervous, started pacing the room._

"_What am I gonna do? I can't get caught. I can't get arrested; I have my whole future in front of me! My dad! What will he think?" Troy vented, his chest rising and falling violently. Evan shook his head and placed a hand on Troy's shoulder. He was about to speak when, Mrs Mckessie spoke._

"_I called the cops you bastards!" Martin became enraged and he moved to strike Mrs Mckessie when two shots were fired towards him. Collapsing onto the floor, he was faced with an angry Mr Mckessie, whose face was twisted in anger and a gun held in his hands. Evan turned and another two shots were fired, this time hitting Mr Mckessie's chest. Before he dropped to the ground, he was able to fire another shot, which hit Evan's torso and caused him to slump down to the ground. Troy was by his side in an instant whilst Taylor ran towards her father, her mother and brother crying out for him and attempting to move despite their restraints._

"_DADDY! Dad. Dad, please! Dad, don't, d-don't go. Please!" Taylor cried, shaking her father in an attempt to keep him alive. Because she knew that if he closed his eyes, he wasn't coming back. Mr Mckessie gasped and smiled when he saw his daughter looking down at him._

"_I l-love you, ba-baby girl." He coughed out, as Mrs Mckessie began to cry louder and scream out his name and Tyler started to move more violently against the bandana, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I love you a-a-all." Taylor's tears were uncontrollable at this point._

"_NO! Daddy, please! I love you. Please don't leave me. Please don't leave us!" Mr Mckessie smiled up at her one more time, his mouth filling with blood, before his eyes rolled up and turned lifeless. Taylor's shoulders moved aggressively as her tears overwhelmed her body. Damn these restraints. If it wasn't for the cord, she would be cradling her father. Hell, if it wasn't for the restraints, her whole family would've been holding Mr Mckessie. Taylor looked away and towards Evan, who was lying on the floor with Troy talking to him. She wanted to go there with all her might and shoot him more times for killing her father, but instead, she continued to look on at her father, her tears trailing down her cheeks and onto him. That was when the sounds of a siren blared loudly into the house. The flashes of red and blue filled the room, lighting up each of their miserable, tear stained faces. Looking down at her father again, Taylor started slowly rocking back and forth, humming a song that her father would sing to her in her younger days. It somewhat soothed her. _

"_Evan man, don't go! Please, don't do this. Evan." Troy cried, shaking his best friend, his mind having the same fear that Taylor's had. Troy ripped off Evan's mask and let out a small smile when he saw a smirk on Evan's face. "I'm gonna get you to the hospital and you're gonna be okay, man. I promise." He stated, 2 tears rolling down his masked face. Evan just shook his head. _

"_I promised you.. Th-that I wouldn't let you get in trouble. So don't worry about me, man. Go. You have a-a lot rooting for you." Troy shook his head even more. _

"_I'm not leaving you, Evan!"_

"_Listen. This isn't up for discussion, I'm not gonna let you give up your dreams. Go!" There was a loud banging at the door._

"_Open up in there! Or we're forcing our way in!"_

"_Come on, Evan. I'm getting you out of here." Evan just pushed Troy off and removed the ruby ring that was on his right hand. His hand shaking, he placed in Troy's hand and gave him one last smile before his eyes fluttered and he too gained a lifeless look in his eyes. Troy let off a loud wail before placing the ring in his pocket. Looking around at his surroundings one more time, he turned to the Mckessie family._

"_I'm so sorry for all of this. I truly am." Taylor nodded. This boy was genuine, he truly didn't want for any of this to happen. She could hear it when he was talking and the constant way he ran a hand over his masked face. Also, he couldn't stop apologising. Her mother saw this in the boy too. The bangs on the door became louder and they knew that it meant they were going to force their way in. Taylor sighed brokenly, hiccups from crying so much causing her body to shake._

"_Go through the kitchen and towards the back there's a door. Go into the garden and keep going straight. There should be another door. Unlock it, and it should lead you back out into the streets." Taylor spoke, her voice low, and her head down. Troy stared at her. "Hurry. They'll be in here in a minute."_

"_Th-thank you! And I seriously mean it, I'm sorry it had to go down like this." Mrs Mckessie nodded and allowed another tear to fall as her gaze fell back upon her husband. He was so close to her yet so far due to the restraints. Troy took one last look at the broken family and ran, following Taylor's instructions. _

_Taylor looked around as the cops burst in. Her family would never be the same. She knew for a fact that this would be the worst summer she had ever had. She couldn't help but think that Evan was right. If she hadn't gone downstairs, none of this would've happened. Her thoughts seized when one of the cops pulled her away from her father's body and took off the cord from her wrists. Taking one last look at her dad, she felt fresh tears appear again. As much as she would've liked to, she knew she would never forget this night. She would never forget the three men who changed her family's life forever. _

_She would never forget not being able to hold her dying father in her arms._

_Most of all she would never forget the blue eyes of the criminal she freed. _

Taylor shot straight up as she dreamed of that horrific night again. It had been two years yet she still had dreams about it. They all ended in her seeing those blue eyes again. She ran a hand over her face and sighed. Reaching into her drawer, she pulled out a picture of her father and herself when she was younger. Taking a shaky breath, she allowed a silent tear to drop from her eye, down her face and onto the picture. _Get back to sleep, Taylor. _She thought, placing the picture back into the drawer and pulling the cover over her head.

**Somewhere on the West Side of town**

"I've had it, Troy!" Jack Bolton yelled, causing his son to jump up in shock. Jack pointed a finger at Troy. "I'm not gonna deal with your bullshit anymore. I'm done." Jack began making his way upstairs and into his room, with his son hot on his heels. He didn't know where he went wrong. A little over 2 years ago, his son was so innocent. He had everything going for him. He was fun spirited, smart, amazing at basketball and popular. But ever since that friend of his died, he's gone off the rails. He's still amazing a basketball and he's still popular, but everything else went away when the Evan boy died. He was getting into trouble more now and Jack was simply tired of it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Troy asked, running a hand through his hair. It was no longer shaggy like he used to have it 2 years ago; it was now sort of spiked up, but not all of it. **(Think Zac Efron now, this Zac Efron is much hotter if you ask me) **

"It means, I'm sending you to live with your mother. I already called her and she's coming to pick you up tomorrow at 3. I think moving is the best thing for you right now."

"No! Dad, she lives in the East side of town!" that place brought back too many memories for him. He could still see her pleading brown eyes now. Pleading with him not to take it any further and to help them. Troy shook his head, getting rid of the memory.

"My decision is final Troy. For the rest of summer and the next semester, you're staying with your mother. Now I love you, son. But a parent can only take so much. You've changed. I feel like I don't even know who you are anymore, son." Jack sighed as he tried his hardest not to let his tears fall. "I've already talked to the principal, and you'll be enrolling at East High for your senior year. I honestly hope you change for the better over there." Troy watched him retreat to him room and he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. Sighing, he fingered the ruby ring on the chain of his necklace and headed upstairs to pack. Knowing his mother, she would come early, and he wanted to be early.

Taylor stood by her locker, getting everything out of her locker. Today was especially hard for Taylor as it was the first day of her senior year and she had to start it without her father's usual drive to school on her first days. She looked up as the locker next to her shut and she was looking into the face of her best friend, Sharpay Evans. "We're finally seniors!" she squealed, jumping a little bit in her heels. Taylor gave her a weak smile and closed her own locker, leaning on it. "Oh Taylor, come on, flash me a smile." Taylor gave her a fake smile and continued on her way to her first class. "A little birdie told me that we got a new boy, and apparently he's cute too."

"Is that so?"

"I hope he is, we need some eye candy at this school." Taylor giggled with her but stopped when she bumped into someone who had just walked out of the principal's office. Looking up, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar eyes. She knew she had seen them before, but she just couldn't figure out where from. The person however instantly remembered her.

"Taylor." He gasped when he saw her. Taylor raised an eyebrow at Troy and tilted her head to the side.

"Have we met before?" Troy sighed and shook his head, giving her a small smile. If she didn't recognise him, it was much better that way. He felt completely horrible for what had happened that night.

"N-no, we haven't. I'm Troy. Troy Bolton."

**Probably the longest chapter I've ever written LOL**

**But anyway, you guys know what to do, **

**R&R **

**MissMercedesJade**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for last chapter's reviews, I loved reading them. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D**

**Disclaimer- I do not own HSM, or any characters.**

For the next few days, Troy would catch Taylor staring at him. Whether it is in the few lessons they shared, or at lunch. He didn't mind though, he liked the attention. Especially from her. He smiled as he saw her standing by her locker, biting her lip and staring at him whilst cocking her head to the side. He waved at her and grinned, and she blushed at the fact that she'd been caught staring. She instantly dug her face back into her locker, whilst Troy kept his eyes fixed on her. His main goal for the next semester was to become Taylor's friend. He wanted to make it up to her. In his way, befriending her was sort of his way of apologizing for the death of her father, in which, in a way, he was involved in. As he took a step towards her, he was stopped as a petite hand placed itself on his chest. He looked down at the hand, annoyed, then back up to the owner. He remembered her from his homeroom class but he didn't know her name. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Gabriella Montez." She extended her hand for him to shake and he unwillingly shook it. "So you're Troy Bolton?" she inquired, leaning against the wall beside her. Troy took a quick look at Taylor, wondering if he could fit in a quick conversation with Gabriella and still be able to go and talk to her.

"Is there another new boy called Troy Bolton at this school?" Gabriella caught him as he frantically looked over at Taylor again. She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Give it up, Troy." His head whipped back around and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"What?"

"Taylor. I saw you looking at her, and I'm telling you to give it up. She has a man." Troy's eyes seemed to darken at her words, but he didn't want his anger to show.

"I...I wasn't-." Gabriella didn't say anything else. She just pointed her finger back over at Taylor, who had now been accompanied by someone Troy could only guess was "her man". He frowned as he saw him wrap his arms around her and pull her into a kiss. He rolled his eyes and turned back to look at Gabriella. "I wasn't planning on doing anything like that with her."

"Sure." She scoffed as he stole another quick glance at Taylor, who was now giggling as he whispered something in her ear. Gabriella chuckled and traced her finger across Troy's chin, before trailing down his chest and stopping at his torso. "If you ever want to have some _fun_, I'm available. Here," she reached into her bag and grabbed a pen, biting off the lid and pushing back the sleeve of his shirt, writing her number down on his arm. "Call me some time, Bolton. I'll give you a heck of a good time." She whispered seductively, before strutting away.

Troy's anger seemed to shut down as he thought about Gabriella's offer. No way was he declining that. He returned his gaze back to Taylor and inwardly groaned as her witnessed the curly haired boy cup her face and pull her in for a kiss. Taylor deepened this one and Troy sucked his teeth, before walking away, not wanting to see any more.

Taylor saw the back of Troy's head as he strolled past them. There was something about him that had her sceptical about him. She could swear she remembered him from somewhere. She just couldn't put her finger on it. "... as if, right?"

"Huh?" she muttered, as her attention went back to her boyfriend, Chad Danforth. They'd gotten together after him and Sharpay had been there for her when her father died.

"Baby, were you even listening to me?" he chuckled slightly, closing her locker and walking with her to her next class.

"Yeah, of course... Okay, no. Sorry, Chad. Tell me again." She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back as they reached her class. "Thanks. I'll see you later, boo." She stood up on her toes and planted a short kiss on him, just as she felt him slipping his arms around her waist, which was a signal that he was about to deepen their kiss, she pulled back and laughed at his flustered face.

"Babe..." he whined,

"Uh-uh. I need to go in and _you_ can't be late again. You'll get a detention and then I won't have a ride home, so _go_." On the word go, she gently pushed him in the shoulder and grinned at him before sauntering into class and taking her seat. Troy cleared his throat just as the teacher came in and Taylor turned to look at him with a questioning look.

"Can you pass me a pen?" he asked her nonchalantly, leaning over towards her. She nodded and rummaged through her bag to try and find the object. When she found it, she passed it to him with a smile on her face. "Thanks. I seriously need to start coming equipped." He chuckled, pulling back and testing out the pen. When he looked back at her, he saw her staring at him once again. Her eyes particularly fixed on his eyes. Then it finally dawned on him why she kept staring at his eyes. When he realised, he diverted his eyes back to the front. He remembered that on the night of her father's death, his eyes were visible when he wore the mask. Oh God! What if she realised that that was him? He was going to make sure to get contacts soon.

"Troy, I swear I know you from somewhere! Are you sure we've never met before?" she whispered, her face twisted in confusion. He shook his head violently.

"Nah, I'd remember if we did. Trust me, Taylor." She nodded and gave up in defeat even though she knew she wasn't going to give up until she found out where she knew him from.

"Alright."

"Miss McKessie, did I interrupt your conversation?"

"N-No, Mr Gilligan. Sorry." She murmured, sinking lower into her seat as everybody's eyes were on her. Troy giggled at her embarrassment and continued to look at Mr Gilligan. As if expected, Taylor gave him one more quick questioning glance before turning back to Mr Gilligan. The whole lesson seemed to go that way: Taylor would stare at Troy; Troy would pretend he didn't see her every other time; she'd smile shyly and get back to her work. As soon as the bell rang, the whole class pushed and shoved their way out whilst Taylor stayed back to avoid the chaos.

"You coming?" Troy asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and sliding one hand into his jean pocket. She just praised him with a smile, got her things together, said goodbye to Mr Gilligan and walked over to him. "We have homeroom next." She groaned as they walked down the hallway.

"Don't you find it weird the amount of lessons we have together?" she questioned, pulling her bag over her shoulder as it weighed down on her. Troy noticed her struggle and took the bag from her grasp and slung it over his own shoulder. "Troy, it's fine, I got it."

"No you didn't Tay, I'm helping you here, so just shush." She laughed and nodded her head. "To answer your question, no, I don't think it's weird. I actually prefer it that way. You're one of the few people at this school that I actually like." He snorted as he saw a bunch of football jocks laughing and running down the hall. Taylor caught his look.

"Finally someone who understands!" she moved her shoulder as they came charging passed her. "I cannot stand them and all the other jocks at this school. The way Chad goes on and on about basketball..." she was cut short at the look that Troy gave her. "What?"

"I can take you not liking any other sport, but basketball? Come on, Tay. Basketball is probably _the_ greatest game known to man." She rolled her eyes in disgust.

"I've grown to hate it. Try having to hear nothing but basketball nearly 24/7. From my dad, little brother and my boyfriend." She didn't notice the frown that marred Troy's features as she spoke about Chad. "Every time we go out, our conversation Always seems to drift back to basketball." She finished with a huff as they neared their homeroom, she did notice his quietness as they kept walking. "You alright, Troy?"

"Huh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about whether the coach at this school will like me." Taylor retrieved her bag from him as they entered.

"Oh yeah I forgot that at your old school your dad was the coach. Ha. Now you actually have to make an effort to be on the team instead of having that _'My father's the coach'_ excuse." She chuckled as she took her seat next to Chad. Troy was about to speak back to her when Chad tapped her, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. When their kiss was over, Chad glared up at Troy as he rolled his eyes.

"Give it up..." a voice sang into Troy's ear. Turning around, he was faced with Gabriella again and he rolled his eyes whilst taking his seat.

"I already told you, Gabriella," he replied, pretty pissed now at her opinion, "I wasn't planning on doing anything with her except to be her friend."

"If you say so, Troy." She sighed as she watched his face grow even angrier. "Alright I'll drop it. If you want to go and be best buds with the school nerd, then go ahead." She laughed as one of her friends heard her. Troy's eyes narrowed even more at her words. School Nerd? What was she talking about? Taylor couldn't be the school nerd, no way. Sure, he had noticed that she was amazingly intelligent, but the word Nerd never crossed his mind.

"Mr Bolton, would you please stop flirting with Ms Montez and turn around." Ms Darbus' voice boomed as she gracefully glided into the room. Now it was Troy's turn to stare at Taylor during the whole lesson. To be honest, it was kinda freaking her out how every time she turned, she could slightly see him staring at her. If this was how he felt, then she'd better stop looking at him.

"Baby," Chad whispered to her, "why is Troy staring at you like that? It's starting to piss me off."

"To be honest, I don't even know." She turned to show Troy that she had acknowledged him and he just smiled at her and turned back to his work. After what seemed like ages, the bell rang, signalling it was time for lunch. Like last lesson, Taylor waited back until all of the madness had finished, accompanied by Chad, and began to head for lunch. Troy kept his head down as he walked a few paces behind them and into the cafeteria. Taylor turned to face Chad as he came to a stop.

"I'm gonna go and get in some extra practice baby, alright?" he leaned in and kissed her. "Save me some pudding!" he yelled, sprinting down towards the gym, which left her all alone. She blew out a loud breath, puffing out her cheeks.

"Damn, I'm hungry. Come on." Troy said, taking her hand and waiting in the lunch line with her. Taylor allowed him to drag her into the line before gently taking back her hand. She did however, continue to stare at him as he got a tray and moved along the line, choosing what he would like. "You have _got_ to stop staring. I know it's a good view and all, but it's kinda creepy." He joked, taking a fork and knife and turning around to choose a place to sit.

"Oh shut up!" she playfully exclaimed, "I'm just surprised you're in here. For the past 4 days, you've been going to the gym then library, I wasn't even sure if you were eating, so to see you in the cafeteria... I'm a little surprised." Revealed Taylor, making her way over to her usual table so that she could wait for Sharpay. She watched, confused, as Troy sat his things down next to her and her hand darted out and rested on his arm. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting down so that I can eat my lunch." He stated as if she should've known. Taylor rolled her eyes and removed her hand.

"I know that, but Troy, you shouldn't be sitting here. You know, you're damaging your social potential by even hanging around with me, let alone sitting with me right now." Troy sat down and folded his arms, placing his bag on the seat next to him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm the school nerd, Troy. You have the potential to possibly be the most popular guy at our school... you got it all! Looks, brains, and judging by the amount of time you spend in the gym, Talent! By hanging around with me you are literally killing any chance you've ever had of being popular. I'm surprised you hadn't figured that out yet!" as she was speaking, she started to unravel her fajita and take out the parts she didn't like. Troy clenched his jaw and looked around the room.

"Is that what this school thinks of you? That you're the school nerd?" she nodded, not really bothered anymore. She'd grown accustomed to the abuse a while ago now. She thought that maybe people would've softened after they heard about what happened to her father, but nope. Not even close. Every once in a while, it would get to her, but she tried her hardest to ignore the cruel people. "Well you're not. You're just smart, that's all it is. They're jealous of you, Tay."

"Jealous? Jealous of what?" she cried, taking a bite.

"Well," Troy turned around and pointed to a group of kids who were just sitting there like a sack of potatoes. They had blank expressions fixed onto their faces and their lunch was suffering the fate of being carelessly pushed about the plate. "They're jealous because of your energy and how fun you are." Taylor cracked a smile as he continued, pointing at the table filled with jocks, "They're jealous because of your intelligence. Believe me; I had a conversation with the Brad guy... Thick as a brick." She let out a small laugh at this point and he grinned and pointed to the cheerleaders table. "And those bitches are jealous because you're over here talking to the 'Luscious Greek God that is Troy Bolton." Taylor burst out laughing because that same phrase was scrawled in the girl's toilets, followed by a list of the phone numbers of people who agreed with the thought. Damn. One week and he already had these girls going crazy. "See, Tay, you're not a nerd. And I don't ever wanna hear you say that about yourself again, okay?" he ended on a much more serious note and Taylor nodded just as Sharpay danced her way over to their table.

"Hello my lovely best friend... Troy?" she sang before noticing Troy and straightening up, brushing her hair with her hands. Sharpay sat down opposite them and tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing here in the cafeteria?"

"Just wanted to finally check out the jungle that is East High's cafeteria." He shrugged, smiling and setting out his own food.

"Oh. Okay." She smiled, before putting her earphones back in and mouthing the words to the song she was singing.

"Shar... Shar... SHARPAY!" Taylor yelled, yanking out Sharpay's earphones at the end. Sharpay nearly jumped!

"Yes, yes, what?"

"You've been dancing and singing all day... why?"

"Taylor! This is our senior year! I need that scholarship from Julliard, and I am gonna work my butt off to get it, so I've decided to start my audition a little early."

"Oh. What song are you gonna do?" Troy asked, curiously. He watched as Sharpay's eyes lit up due to the fact that he had talked to her.

"It's between two. I was thinking maybe Alicia Keys Unthinkable, or Ashley Tisdale He Said She Said."

"Those are two completely different songs, Shar."

"Exactly. I'm thinking about performing them at The Bean – on different occasions, of course- , and then whichever gets the best response, I'll perform. Now let me soak the songs in, woman." She was just about to put in her earphones when she snapped her fingers and pointed one at Taylor. "You should start practicing, too, Tay. I hear this year is literally going to be one of the hardest years to get in. My friend, you know her, Elena, she's already there, and she said that there are _a lot_ of people who are interested this year." Taylor sighed, whilst Troy watched questioningly at the two.

"Eh. I'll start sometime later." Sharpay sighed and clicked the roof of her tongue at her. "Besides, you know my audition song will be Hurt by Christina Aguilera." Troy immediately tensed up at her words, guilt washing over his face. He knew the song and he also knew that the song was about losing a loved one.

"I understand your reasons for the song, Tay, but I still think you should go back to what you decided to do 2 years ago." Taylor shook her head. When her father died, she decided that she would sing that song for her Julliard audition. She performed it at The Bean on the one year anniversary of his death and the reception for the song was amazing! "I think you should do All I Could Do Was Cry, Tay. It shows off your voice much more."

"I'm sorry, you sing?" Troy inquired, re-entering the conversation and fixing Taylor with a surprised look. She laughed softly and Troy couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face.

"I try." She whispered, looking down to avoid eye contact with Troy.

"Oh stop being modest, Tay. Your voice is amazing! I'm jealous!" Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, you're gonna have to sing those songs for me, sometime. I'm a big fan of Christina and Etta." Taylor smiled up at him, whilst Sharpay observed the two.

"Hmm." Was the only thing she said before putting her earphones back in and closing her eyes to fully get into the song. Troy and Taylor stayed quiet for a while, mostly eating and laughing when they caught the other looking at them. Taylor glanced up at the clock and sighed when she saw there was only around 10 minutes left of lunch so she stood, her tray in her hands, and watched as Troy followed suit. Sharpay saw them stand up and she took out her earphones. "Hey, where you guys going?"

"Gonna head over to my locker." She smiled turning and making her way out with Troy. Troy was about to speak when Gabriella stood right in front of them, bringing them to a halt. "Gabriella." Taylor muttered quietly, rolling her eyes when the Hispanic girl paused in front of them.

"Mckessie. Anyway, Troy!" she flipped her hair and batted her eye lids at the cute boy who looked somewhat annoyed at her presence. "My mom just called me and she's working late tonight so... I was thinking that I'd text you my address and you would come over." Troy cocked his head to the side, thinking about her offer. Sighing, he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

"Perfect." Her grin practically spread from ear to ear. She bit her lower lip. "Can't wait, Troy. I definitely _cannot wait._" She slowly strutted away from him, leaving a stunned Taylor and a blank faced Troy.

"What?" he shrugged.

"Did you seriously just accept Gabriella's offer? You know she wants sex right?" Troy shrugged again, making a face as if to say _'What's the problem?'_

"What's your point?"

"Didn't you just officially meet her today?" Troy nodded the same look from before still on his face. "Wow. You're gonna turn into one of them. A dumb ass, horny jock! Troy accepting an offer from a girl whom you officially just met today is a bit fast don't you think?"

"Tay, listen. I know what she wants, alright? And I'd be lying if I say I didn't want it too. I have needs, Tay! I'm a man." At the end of his sentence, he flexed his biceps, causing Taylor to chuckle and roll her eyes.

"Yeah, but still. You understand my point. I just really do not want you to turn into one of the jocks. I don't want you to _change._" She looked down and then away as she finished. Troy bent down so that he was level with her, and he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Tay, I will not change. And I will also definitely not become one of those idiotic jocks. I may be one because of the fact that I play sports, but my personality shall be different." He turned and slung an arm around her shoulder as they continued to make their journey towards her locker. "And don't worry, Tay, I'll still be your friend. You'll still get to keep all this sexiness around." He laughed as Taylor playfully pushed him off of her and shook her head. Leaning against some lockers and watching her put some things back in there, he folded his arms across his chest and spoke more firmly. "But I'm serious, Taylor. When I become captain of the basketball team – and believe me, it's a _when_ not an _if_- I'll still be your friend. Cos people are completely wrong about you. You're amazing." Taylor rolled her eyes as she held back a smile. "Which reminds me," he rolled up the sleeve without Gabriella's number on it and extended it towards Taylor. "I need your number."

"Wh-what? Why?" the only other boy who'd ever asked for her number was Chad, her boyfriend. But this was back when they were freshman.

"So that I can call you and talk to you." He replied slowly, "You know, like normal friends do." He laughed, pushing his arm out further for her to write on. When she sighed and bent down to write her number down, he was surprised when she took a deep sniff of his arm and closed her eyes, stepping back. He was both shocked and confused by the act until he saw a lone tear drop down her eyes, followed by another, then another, and soon, she'd buried her head deep into her locker and started to cry. Troy instantly rushed by her side and draped his arm around her, pulling her up and allowing her to cry on his shoulder. "Tay? Taylor, what is it?" She didn't say anything, she just kept crying, and he allowed her to, when suddenly she stepped back and wiped her eyes.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Troy. It's just... I was writing my number down on your arm and I think it was your wrist or something, but it smelt strongly like... like the cologne my... my... my dad used to use." She whispered, allowing another tear to fall. "Ah! I'm so sorry." She violently attacked her eyes, trying to wipe away any traces that she'd been crying. Troy stood there silently as she got herself together.

"BABY!" Chad yelled, running out of the gym, a smile plastered on his face until he saw what her face looked like. He engulfed her in a tight hug straight away. "Taylor, what is it? What did you do?" he glared over at Troy, who narrowed his eyes at the boy. Taylor pulled back and smiled, wiping some of the other tears that had escaped.

"Nothing, boo! He didn't do anything except try to help. It was just... You know what? It was nothing." She sighed, leaning more into Chad's embrace.

"You can leave now, Bolton."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Troy stepped forward towards Chad, however, he stopped and calmed down when Taylor placed her small hands on either of their chests. He didn't know what it was, but something about his touch. Something about her hand so close to his heart... It... It just made him feel _weird._

"Stop, you guys. Thanks Troy, for staying with me, but yeah, you should go." She gave him another warming smile and he couldn't help but smile back, before nodding.

"Fine. I'll just," he lifted his sleeve up to view the number, purposefully going up slowly so that Chad could read every digit. "call you later on today, okay? Bye Tay. Chad." He smiled in satisfaction as Chad's eyes seemed to darken and his jaw clenched. Walking away, he looked down at his arm again, chuckling slightly. He had no more lessons with Taylor that day, so that would've been the last time he'd spoke to her... until he called her. He was honestly really looking forward to listening to her voice again. Something about it made him happier. He took a whiff of his wrist and shook his head.

Yeah, he definitely had to get new cologne. If he wanted to carry on being close to Taylor, he _had _to get a new cologne.

**Did you like it? Well, did you? Did you? Did you? Lol, oh gosh. **

**Anyway, R&R people, won't update till i get 8 or 7 reviews **

**MissMercedesJade**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know, I know. I haven't updated Always Right or Try Again, but frankly I didn't get the response for the latest chapters that I would've expected to get and this story did. So, hey, to me it seems as if you guys like this one more, so I'm updating this one :D. Also, just so you guys know, I've kept Troy's birthday as Zac's one, but don't expect Taylor or anyone elses' to be the same .**

**Thank you to last week's reviewers: **_chaylorxtraylorlover, gweniibabbii, traylorlove, MermaidRam85, secretwishxx (your comment had me quite scared at first, aha),javasmoker and Erieaud. _

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own HSM or any characters I only own their emotions and their actions in this story... Obviously. **

_Enjoy!_

_-.-_

_3 Weeks Later_

"Troy!" Taylor moaned as Chad was placing kisses on her exposed neck. Hearing another boy's name escape his girlfriends' lips made him tear away from her and glare down at her.

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Troy. That's what I was going to talk to you about earlier." Chad continued to stare at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Remember? When I said I was gonna say something, but then I forgot. Well, the subject was Troy." Chad rolled his eyes and groaned, moving away from her and pulling her to sit up with him.

"What about him?" Chad asked, not even bothering to hide his disgust for the boy. Taylor reached out and playfully slapped his arm.

"That. Chad you need to get over whatever vendetta you have against the guy. What has he done to you?"

"Except for making my girl cry?"

"Chad." Taylor started, pushing closer to Chad and wrapping her arms around him and setting her head down on his shoulder. "I told you. I was crying because his scent reminded me of... my dad." She whispered the last part, taking a deep breath to stop herself from crying. Chad's features softened and he slung his arm around her, pulling her even tighter towards him.

"I know, you told me. Okay... another reason... he's getting way too close to you for my likings." Taylor rolled her eyes at this and pushed him slightly. "Don't try to deny it, Tay. I don't like all these talks you guys have, and I _definitely_ do not like the hugs you two share. I should be the only guy with his arms around you." Oh, the hugs. Taylor should've known he'd bring this up. She couldn't blame him. If it were Chad hugging a girl who he'd suddenly grown so close to in the space of 3 and half weeks, she'd be pissed. But it wasn't like she was cheating on him. Besides, the only reason why she was always hugging Troy was because he smelled like her dad. With the scent and Troy's strong grip on her, it made her feel as if her father was there for just one moment when she closed her eyes.

"Babe, it's just hugs. He's not even good at hugging," she giggled, snuggling even closer towards him. "You are the best... at hugging, at _kissing._"

"Yeah, yeah. You're just saying that."

"No I'm not! Now come on, remind me just how much I love your kisses." Taylor laughed, looking up at him hopefully. Chad rolled his eyes playfully and turned to stare down at her.

"I love you, Tay."

"I love you too. And since you're not doing it, let me speed things up." And with that, she pushed herself up and kissed Chad. His hands got locked in her hair whilst he deepened the kiss. Falling back on the bed, Chad allowed his hands to roam her body as they resumed their previous activities before Troy was brought up.

-.-

Troy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel absentmindedly as he drove. He was too stuck in his thoughts. Thoughts that were brought on by staring at the surroundings that brought so many memories for him. The parks that he used to go to and play. The streets he'd hang around on with Evan and his friends. Evan. Troy really did miss Evan. Not a day went by without him thinking about his best friend. No one would ever be able to replace him. He understood him like no one else could. .. apart from Taylor. This was weird, seeming as the two had only met like 3 and half weeks ago.

But three and a half weeks was all it took for Troy and Taylor to become quite close. They'd shared heart to hearts, whether at school or on the phone. Troy knew quite a lot about Taylor and Taylor knew quite a lot about him. One thing that Taylor hadn't spoken to him about, however, was her father's death and one thing that Troy never spoke to her about was Evan's death. Pulling up and exiting the car, Troy sighed deeply as he made his way towards Evan's grave.

As he crouched down and removed some of the weeds that were growing there, he shook his head. "I know, man. It's been a while and I'm sorry. My dad made me move to the East Side. Can you believe it?" he sucked his teeth and decided to kneel instead. "I go to East High now and it's everything you told me it is. The people there are so annoying. The only people I can stand are Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke and Taylor." He sighed again. "You probably don't remember her but she was the girl whose house we attacked on the night you died. I feel so bad befriending her but in a way, it's my way of saying sorry. We've actually gotten really close recently like _really_ close. If it wasn't for her idiot of a boyfriend Chad, I'm pretty sure I would've asked her out by now. Then there's this chick called Gabriella... you would've probably liked her, for certain reasons anyway." He chuckled to himself. "She's good I guess... but there have been better girls so far. You would be so proud of me, man. You always told me I was too damn sensitive and that I should use my good looks to my advantage well... look at me now, man. 3 weeks and I already got these girls feigning." He laughed and reached for the piece of jewellery that hung on a chain on his neck. "I miss you, Evan."

Troy sat in silence for a while, stuck in his thoughts, until he heard his phone ring. Answering it quickly, he stood up. "Hello?"

"Libra." Came a happy voice.

"What?" Troy asked, genuinely confused. He knew it was Taylor, he could easily recognise her voice but he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Your birthday is the 18th October, right? You're a Libra. You know what that means?" a smile broke out onto his face and he took one last look at Evan's grave and returned to his car.

"No, but I know you're going to tell me anyway..."

"Correct, Bolton. Okay, so you make an excellent friend, even though you can be late. You are moody, favourite colour is blue, you are an expressive lover and you love to make your lover feel completely and thoroughly satisfied from conversation to love making." Taylor burst into a fit of laughter at the end, just as Troy shut his door. He was quite shocked. He never did believe those horoscope things but this one was quite right, every one of those things applied to him.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because of the last one!"

"So? I'm sure if you ask Gabriella, you'll find out that it's completely true. I aim to please, Tay." He cockily stated, getting comfortable in his seat. He was sure the conversation might take a while and he was not going to talk on the phone whilst driving.

"Vain little shit." Taylor laughed, flipping the page of the magazine she was reading.

"I have a good reason to be vain." He joked. "Who am I compatible with?" he questioned, now curious because there was a chance it could be right.

"Erm... You are compatible with... Aquarius. Oh."

"'Oh?' Wait, you're birthday is on January 25th so what does that make you?" There was a short silence before Taylor's reply.

"An Aquarius. But these things can't always be right, I'm sure it's wrong." She rushed out Troy's face breaking out into a wider smile at the speed she was talking.

"Right. So was this the only reason why you called me or is there something else?"

"Actually," she began her voice back to normal. "I was talking to Chad," Troy rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the boys' name. "And I convinced him to give you a shot at the basketball team. I saw how hard he was on you when you tried out and most of the other guys on the team are complaining that you aren't on the team when you really should be there. You're good, Bolton."

"Why, thank you, Mckessie. So does that mean I'm on the team?" he asked, excitedly. Being on the basketball team was the most important thing on his mind at the moment... that and making love to Taylor. Oh gosh. Not these thoughts again! Okay, sure, he had thoughts about going out with her and kissing her for two weeks since he started at East High, but now his thoughts about her were not even close to being platonic. Every time the dark-haired beauty ran into his mind, he would end up having to either a) relieve himself, b) take a cold shower, or c) Call Gabriella.

"No. It means you have another try-out on Thursday after school with Chad and Zeke."

"Are you gonna be there?"

"Of course." Troy beamed at her response, "Chad's coming over to my house on Thursday, so I'm gonna wait for him." His smile dropped as she revealed the reason as to why she was coming. "So... Whatcha doin'?" she sweetly inquired, just like the little girl from Phineas and Ferb. Troy, not exactly wanting to tell her that he was at a cemetery visiting his old best friend who killed her father, thought about what to say.

"I, uh, I was just on my way home... from the arcade."

"You still go to the arcade?"

"Y-yeah. I'm a little kid inside, leave me alone, Tay. What about you? What are you doing?"

"Chad's here." As if by habit, his eyes rolled. "He quickly went to his house and he should be coming back. Hey, I got an idea, you wanna come over? We can all watch a Disney film and embrace our inner kids." She giggled at her own little joke whilst Troy put his seat belt on. If Chad wasn't going to be there, he would say yes. But since the curly haired fool was going to be there, there was no way he was going to be there.

"Uh... As inviting as a cartoon with Danforth sounds, I think I'll pass." Taylor frowned and pouted. If Troy had seen her, he would've caved in.

"Troy!" she whined, extending his name.

"Taylor!" he repeated, in the same manner that she had just done. "My dad's coming today cos him and my mom want to talk to me, so I'm gonna go home and prepare for whatever shit they've got ready for me."

"Oh. I'm sure it's all good things. I still don't understand why your dad moved you, Troy. You haven't done anything wrong so far." Troy sucked his teeth and sighed.

"I just... I have a _bad_ past, Tay. I'll tell you about it sometime, but for now, I'm gonna go. Tell Danforth I said hey." He smirked as she giggled. "Bye, Tay."

"Later, Troy."

Pulling out of the cemetery car park, he began his journey back home. He hadn't exactly lied to Taylor, but he knew why his dad was coming over. He was coming over as both his parents had revealed they each had news to share. Troy didn't like his father's girlfriend at all. It was so bad, in fact, that she still hadn't moved in after a year with his father. He'd refused and fought against his father so that he wouldn't move her in and it had paid off. She was still at her house. With his mother, however, it was a different story. After only 6 months with her new beau, she moved him into her home, and now that Troy was living with the both of them, there was nothing he could do about it.

10 minutes later, Troy had arrived at his house, groaning aloud when he saw his father's car in the driveway. Great, now he had no time to try and finish his Spanish revision sheet. He inserted the key into his front door, closing his eyes. "Troy!" exclaimed the over enthusiastic voice of his father's girlfriend, Lacey.

"Troy?" asked the deep baritone voice of his mother's boyfriend, Alex.

"Yeah?" he yelled blindly, not exactly knowing what room the adults were situated in.

"In the kitchen, sweetie." Called his mother sweetly. Troy sighed and rolled his eyes, replacing his frown for a smile as he entered the kitchen. "Sit down, honey, I made you some brownies."

"Brownies? Okay, what's going on here?" he asked inquisitively, pulling up a chair and sitting down. His father, Jack, leaned on the kitchen island and stared directly at Troy. "We, uh, we all got pieces of news to share."

"Great! Let's share."

"Each couple has some news, honey, so I think your father should start." His mother responded, her gaze falling upon Jack and Lacey, who'd entwined their fingers.

"Okay, so Troy, you see how you call me Lacey?" Troy raised an eyebrow, whilst nodding, already getting a slight idea of what their news was. "Well pretty soon I'm gonna be your step mom! Your father and I are getting married."

"Yay." Troy stated in a monotone voice and a blank face. Lacey and Jack frowned and Lucille cleared her throat. "Your turn, mother."

"Okay, Troy. Alex and I," she smiled up at him and Alex placed an arm around her waist and placed his hand directly over her stomach, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Troy.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" He exclaimed, his voice rising. His mother blinked, not entirely sure how he'd figured it out.

"Troy, I-."

"There's nothing to explain. You've got another man's baby growing inside of you-."

"He's my boyfriend!" Lucille cried, ignoring Alex's pleads to stay calm.

"I don't give a shit, mom! You shouldn't be pregnant with his baby! You shouldn't even be fucking this man!" he yelled, getting up and slamming his fist on the kitchen island, making the adults jump.

"Troy, that is no way to talk to your mother!" shouted Jack, his face twisting into one of anger.

"Dad, shut the hell up, okay, I'm-." He was cut off by Alex slamming his fist onto the counter.

"That is no way to talk to your father, young man! Now I know you are hurt and-." Troy's anger got the best of him and he took a step forward towards Alex, resisting the urge to pummel his fist into Alex's face.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do okay? You're not my dad, and you're" he pointed a finger in Lacey's direction. "Not my mom. Nor are you ever going to be! So even if you and my dad are getting married, there is no way on God's Earth that I'm going to call you mom, or stepmom or _anything!_" He took deep breaths, closing his eyes, before re-opening them and looking into the eyes of four hurt adults. "I-I... I'm going out. I'll be back later. I need to think." He looked away, not wanting to look into their faces anymore, and left, headed for Taylors. He didn't know what made him drive there, but she was the only one at that moment that he wanted to see.

He reached up to knock but the door swung open before he got the chance. "Bolton." Chad. Troy rolled his eyes and stepped aside to allow the bushy-haired teen out.

"Troy? WH-what are you doing here?" Taylor asked, completely confused. She took in Troy's troubled visage and cleared her throat. "Um, baby, I'll call you later, okay. Troy, come in." She stepped out onto the porch, watching Troy enter her house, before turning and kissing Chad goodbye.

"Taylor.." he warned.

"Chad." She retorted, sending him a look. "He's probably upset and wants to vent his feelings. It's okay." Chad sighed and kissed her one last time.

"Bye baby." He took one last worried look into the house and walked away. She sighed and retreated back into her house where Troy was waiting for her.

"What's wrong, Troy?" she asked, genuinely worried as she had not seen Troy like this ever. He looked up at her and didn't respond. "Okay, I have some snacks and a Disney film about to start upstairs. Why don't we go upstairs, relax a little bit and then you tell me what's got you all depressed? Come on, pouty." She didn't wait for him to respond; she reached down and took his hand, dragging him up to her bedroom. She watched as he got comfortable on her bed and she giggled as he warily took in her room. "Not what you expected from me?" Her laughter died down as Troy just gave her a weak smile and sighed. "Okay... It's Pocahontas by the way." He only nodded as Taylor got on the bed beside him and leaned against him.

Approximately 2 hours later, they'd finished the film. Troy had lightened up a little and Taylor had stuffed her face with gummy bears throughout the movie. Taylor looked down, unsure now of what to do with the silence. "My dad's getting married to his girlfriend." She turned and sat directly in front of him, crossing her legs and sitting Indian style. She gave him a look to carry on. "Which means she'll be moving in with him." He rubbed a hand over his face and continued. "My mom's pregnant."

"Oh. Don't you think that's kind of a good thing?"

"A good thing?" he laughed bitterly. "Not even close. Tay, my mother is having a baby with another man. My father is getting married to another woman this is hardly a good thing."

"But it's not like your parents are even together anymore Troy. They've moved on from each other and they've found new happiness and joy." She looked closely at Troy and observed him as he flinched when she said moving on. Scooting closer in front of Troy, she reached out and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. "Tell me why you're upset about this."

"I just..." he fumbled over his words till he sighed and looked directly at her, her breath catching as she saw the sadness in his eyes. "I still had hope that they'd get back together. I've always wished that they'd realise they were wrong, kiss and make-up and we'd go back to being a family again. Even when my dad got with Miss Ditzy and my mom Mr Muscle, I still had hope. But now... Now that my mom's _pregnant_... they're never going to get back together. Never." He whispered, a pool of tears threatening to fall out from his cobalt blue eyes.

"Oh Troy." She pulled him into her arms and held onto him tightly, rocking him side to side. "I told you, your parents are happy now. And you need to start accepting that and their partners. Plus you're going to be an older brother soon, so you need to get that dislike for your mom's boyfriend, no matter how muscular he is." She giggled at her own statement and smiled brightly when he grinned as well.

"Yeah but the dude probably can't even touch his back, his biceps are huge!" they shared a laugh, still locked in an embrace, until Troy sighed, turning into Taylor's neck whilst slyly sniffing her and adoring her sweet scent. "Thanks Taylor." Taylor had to close her eyes and will herself not to get a tingling feeling when she felt Troy's breath on her neck.

"It's uh, its okay." Troy pulled back and stared into her eyes, getting lost in her pupils. His eyes unintentionally dropped to her full lips, analysing the way they were naturally pouty and how juicy and plump they looked. She bit down on her lip as Troy's hands drifted down to her hips as he pulled her so she was straddling his lap. He leaned in and Taylor was unsure of whether she wanted him to kiss her so she didn't move her head at all, she stayed still, anticipating his next move. Troy's eyes suddenly fell upon the screensaver on Taylor's computer, which was a picture of her and her father. Abruptly he lifted her back down onto the bed and buried his head in his hands. The guilt he was feeling at the moment was over whelming. "Troy?"

"I have to go Taylor, I-I'll see you at school." He ran out of that house as quick as he could, wondering what would've happened had he not seen the picture. He would have to be patient. He'd kiss Taylor... soon.

**Yeah, I changed the ending. It's better for me this way, cos now you guys anticipate their kiss. I think I rushed into it a bit too much, so review **

**OriginallyImperfect.**


	4. Chapter 4

The next day at school was pretty awkward for the both Taylor and Troy. In homeroom in the morning, Sharpay kept commenting on the awkwardness at any chance she got. "What happened between you guys? You kiss or something?" She chuckled at her own joke, not realising how close to the truth she was. They were both extremely quiet around each other, talking only when necessary.

"Mm, I have to go, boo; my next lesson is on the other side of the building." Taylor whined, pulling herself away from Chad but still holding his hand. Chad groaned and pulled her back.

"Argh. You still coming to practice today?" He asked, entwining their fingers.

"Of course, someone has to make sure you play fair to Troy." Before Chad could reply, Taylor ripped herself away from him. "Bye Chad!" She called out as she jogged down the corridor to try and make it on time for her lesson.

"Taylor!" When she heard that voice, she couldn't help the fact that her palms started to sweat at the voice. When she turned around and took in his appearance, she also couldn't control the smile that appeared on her face and the fact that her heart was now thumping loudly.

"T-Troy? Oh, hey. I was just heading to Spanish. Walk with me?" He nodded and she placed a hand on her chest to try and calm her wild heart, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Troy.

"About what happened yesterday Taylor, I-." He was silenced by Taylor raising her hand, a signal for him to stop.

"That shouldn't have happened, well I'm glad nothing happened because I love Chad and I'm not a cheater." She stated clearly, leaving no room for compromising.

"That's not what I was gonna say. I want-"

"I'm not a cheater." She was about to head into class when he reached out for her arm, making her turn around to face him.

"So break up with him." Taylor gasped. That was something she would never even think about doing. She could never do that to Chad. He'd done so much for her and been with her throughout so much. He loved her as did she him. Whatever attraction she was feeling for Troy would pass. It was just a phase.

"How can you say that? I-I am not going to break up with Chad! What kind of... You're- you're crazy!" She exclaimed, dropping her books as she opened her arms wide. "Argh."

She was about to bent down to pick up her books as Troy stepped closer and placed a hand over her heart. Taylor's mind told her to swat it away but she couldn't bring herself to do that. His touch was warm & made her heart beat even faster. What the fuck was he doing anyway? "Hm. Just as I thought. Does Chad make your heart beat this fast? He's not even here so it must be me." He gave her a smirk as she cursed under her breath.

"Fuck you, Bolton." She swore, bending down to retrieve her dropped items, not realising just how bad it looked to others.

"Ooh, so now Taylor McKessie's a whore, huh? You dirty little nerd." One person sneered from down the hall. Taylor flipped him off and looked away from Troy so he wouldn't see the hurt she felt. She rolled her eyes and stormed into her lesson.

"Miss Montoya, I just need to get my book from this one boy down the hall, I'll be back in 2 minutes." Miss Montoya flashed Troy a smile and nodded. Urgh. She'd do anything for Troy. Taylor wasn't exactly too bothered about Troy's whereabouts, however when he returned with a small red stain on the corner of his t-shirt, she became slightly curious. Where the hell had he gone & what damage had he done? He took the seat behind her and sighed.

Throughout the lesson, he kept trying to gain Taylor's attention. He was doing just about everything but she kept ignoring him. Finally the bell rang, signalling that it was time for the next lesson, which lucky for Taylor was her free period, unlucky for her however, it was Troy's too. She managed to leave the room before he saw her and speed-walked to the library, hoping for a little time to herself. Sighing heavily, she placed her bag on the table and got out the novel she was currently reading. After roughly ten minutes she heard the screech of a chair being dragged out and a set of hands landing in front of her. Inwardly groaning, she put her book down. "What?"

"I thought you always waited for me when we had free period? We're meant to be at the gym this time." Spoke Troy, following her as she stood up to go to one of the book shelves. "Taylor?"

"Go away, Troy. At this moment in time, I don't really want to be around you." She warned, still moving down the aisle and pretending to search for something. A small yelp escaped her mouth as he spun her around and backed her up into a shelf, her breath shallowing at just how close he was to her. "Can you move please?" Troy pretended to think about it before shaking his head and grinning at her. Upon seeing his boyish grin, she couldn't help the smile that crept up on her face. "What's that on your top?" She lightly shoved him back as she turned back around to 'search' for a book.

"I punched the kid who was making fun of you." He had now pushed up behind her, his warm breath tickling the nape of her neck.

"Wh-why did you do that?" She asked nervously, shaking away the sudden goose bumps that had surfaced.

"Did you not hear what he said about you?"

"I heard him. But I chose to ignore him because... What's the point?" She sighed, momentarily forgetting how close he was when she turned around to go sit back down. "If he wants to start spreading a rumour that I was giving you head, let him. At the end of a day, I know its not true so I don't feel bad."

"You make it sound as if you want to do it? I won't object if you do." Taylor glared daggers at him and stormed over to her seat. "I was joking, Tay!" He chuckled as he took the seat opposite her. "But I do want your mouth on mine." He winked at her as she looked down, trying to block out her blush.

"Keep dreaming, Bolton. That's not happening anytime soon."

"Oh believe me, darling. It will." He told her as he began to exit the library.

"Where are you going?" She whispered curiously.

"Gymnasium! You coming?" He yelled, ignoring the librarians' pleas to shut up. Taylor rolled her eyes and packed away as she followed him out, not exactly knowing why she'd agreed. She caught up to him as he entered and grinned when she caught sight of Chad's bushy hair. She almost forgot he had double PE. Thank God! Now she could focus on being a faithful girlfriend. The fact that there was a lesson meant that they could only sit on the bleachers and watch instead of playing some basketball. "Er, you wanna go somewhere else? We can go sit outside and study if-."

He was cut off by Chad running over to them and picking Taylor up from behind, spinning her around as she squealed. "What are you doing here?" He questioned after he greeted her with a loving kiss that made Taylor smile.

"Had a free period and Troy over here dragged us to the gym? You're all sweaty." She whined, pulling away from him and not realising that Troy had turned away from their display of affection. "Chad, don't!" She squealed out as he tried to hug her.

"DANFORTH! Get your ass over here and finish these drills!" Bellowed the coach, blowing his whistle. When he blew, it seemed to bring out the dimples in his cheeks. The dimples that had nearly every girl falling for him. Too bad for them, rumour has it that he and Miss Montoya are an item. I was brought out of my daydream by Chad kissing me one more time before running back.

"I'll be watching, boo!" She called out, hoping he'd hear her. Troy snorted and went to sit down. "What? What was that snort about?" She clapped and cheered out Chad's' name even though she wasn't exactly sure what she was cheering him on for.

"'I'll be watching, boo!'" He mimicked, finishing off with a loud laugh. "Who says that?"

"A loving girlfriend. You ever have one of those?" She retorted, not even bothering to look back for his reaction.

"What makes you think I haven't?"

"I've already told you how I feel about your hit it and quit it lifestyle. So just witnessing that makes me think you've never been in a proper relationship. And I know I'm right so there's no need to answer."

"Well, you're wrong. I have. 9th grade, this beautiful brunette called Georgia. She was-." Taylor turned to him and raised her hand like earlier.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember asking for a flashback?" She joked, snatching her hand away as he reached out to grab it.

"You're gonna listen. As I was saying, she was stunning... The definition of stunning. I never did have the courage to ask her out until my best friend E-" Troy stopped himself before looking back up. "Ethan done it for me. We went out for like 6 months. I'd buy her gifts and all that and she'd sneak me in little kisses here and there. I seriously thought I was in love. Till one day she left a note in my locker saying she was dumping me for Ev-Ethan. He did like her back but he told me that because we were practically brothers, he couldn't do that because he knew it'd come between us." He smiled at the memory of Evan. Damn, he missed him.

"This guy seems like a good friend." Taylor had turned to straddle the bench she was sitting on and to face Troy.

"He was." whispered Troy, unintentionally reaching up to finger the ring that hung on his chain.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That's a really nice ring, let me see that." She moved closer and reached out for the ring, fingering it. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion for a minute. "I could swear I remember this ring from somewhere. Where do I remember it from? Damn, this is your entire fault! Before you came, I never used to forget anything! Now I think I recognise things and I'm thinking that I know them from somewhere. Argh." She vented, gently tucking the ruby ring back inside his t-shirt.

Troy's eyes averted to the court where Chad was keeping an eye on them. "I think you better shift back before your boyfriend comes over here." Taylor instantly turned towards Chad and moved back when she saw him cutting his eyes over at them. Troy chuckled as they fell back into conversation. 20 minutes later, gym class had ended and all the boys except for one had gone to shower. Taylor promised Chad she'd be there when he was finished so that they could go to lunch together. "I'm gonna go talk to coach for a minute." He stood up and reached out his hand for her to take, which she accepted. They crossed over towards the Coach and waited as he talked to another boy who Taylor knew as Jonah Bradshaw.

"I'm sorry coach, my dad doesn't want me here after school for practices so I can't keep coming." He whined, folding his arms.

" It's alright, Bradshaw, as long as you can make sure you're here every lunchtime I think we can make up for it." He patted the boys' shoulder, signalling that their conversation was over.

"Argh, I hate my dad! He's such a fucking idiot! I swear I wish he would just drop dead sometimes." At his sentence, Taylor whipped around and narrowed her eyes at the boy.

"Don't say things like that, Jonah!"

"Fuck off, McKessie! Just because you probably have the perfect family, a mom and a dad who love you and are always there for you when you wake up in the morning to serve you breakfast, gosh! I hate girls like you, who have everything and take it for granted!" Taylor couldn't help the tears that began to freely fall from her face. Troy moved himself in front of her and grabbed Jonah's shirt with his fist, only stopping when the Coach pulled them away.

"For your information, Bradshaw, my dad is dead. Such a dick face!" she sprinted out of the gym, not exactly sure where she was headed but only stopping when she felt Troy's arms envelope her from behind. She collapsed into him as she cried heavily, her tears staining his top. "Where's Chad? I-I need Chad." She stuttered through her tears, not realising how much her words insulted Troy. "Please Troy, I just need Chad."

"I know what it feels like to lose a loved one, Tay. You just need to let it all out. I know people probably tell you not to think about it a lot, but there's nothing wrong with letting it out, okay? Look at me." When her tear stained face looked up, Troy frowned. "Okay?"

She slowly nodded, her body still trembling as more tears descended past her soft, mocha cheeks. He pulled her back towards her solely for the fact that she felt good all pushed up against him. As he rocked her from side to side, quiet footsteps turned into loud ones as Chad approached them. "Chad!" she moved herself from Troy and threw her arms around Chad. The familiar warmth and security made her relax, but she noticed that when she was in Troy's arms there was some sort of comfortable feeling she got. It made her feel as if nothing at all would happen to her as long as he held her.

"Shh. It's alright, Taylor, just focus on something else. Don't think about your dad, it's okay. I'm here." He whispered into her ear as she sniffled. She pulled away.

"Thanks, baby." He leaned down and gave her a peck before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She would never tell him this, but his advice was a pile of shit. She was sick of people telling her not to think about it and to stop crying. Troy's advice was truthful. He knew what she wanted. She's wanted to let it all out for the longest of time.

"Come on, let's go get some food in you, huh?" she giggled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand before beginning to walk away. She turned back around and mouthed to Troy: 'Thank You.'

The sincerity in her eyes alone caused a small flutter to erupt in Troy's heart.

**A bit short, I know. But hope you liked.**

**You know what to do, R&R.**

**OriginallyImperfect**


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